How do i know if I'm due a refund for the unemployment tax I prepaid?

[smporteraol]

I had federal taxes taken out of my unemployment in 2020 (CA does not tax unemployment). I filed my returns in April just before the rescue act was signed in and my federal return was accepted right afterwards with no adjustments since. I can see on my return that it shows I paid the federal tax for unemployment but since the rescue act was not in effect yet when my return was accepted, there is no way turbotax could allow for the rescue act in calculating my return. I believe I am owed a refund but refunds for this type of thing were already sent out last month. I've checked the irs.gov website and there is no information that is helpful. How should I proceed?

[rjs]

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@smporteraol wrote:
 How should I proceed?

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You should wait very patiently. The IRS started sending out refunds for unemployment in May, but they didn't send them all. They are going to continue sending refunds through the summer. There is no way to know in advance when you will get your refund.

You will get an additional federal refund for the unemployment exclusion if all of the following are true.

• You reported unemployment benefits as income on your 2020 tax return.
• You did not get the unemployment exclusion on the 2020 tax return that you filed. The unemployment exclusion would appear as a negative amount on Schedule 1 line 8, with the abbreviation UCE on the dotted line to the left of the amount.
• Your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), not including unemployment, is less than $150,000.

If all three of those conditions are true, The IRS will recalculate your tax return and send you the additional refund. It might take several months to get it. For details see the following IRS announcements and FAQ.

IRS to recalculate taxes on unemployment benefits; refunds to start in May

IRS begins correcting tax returns for unemployment compensation income exclusion

IRS sending more than 2.8 million refunds to those who already paid taxes on 2020 unemployment compe...

2020 Unemployment Compensation Exclusion FAQs

[SundayInSalem]

TurboTax was updated after the American Rescue Plan Act became law on March 11. Therefore, if you log in, TurboTax will show you what your refund would have been had the law been in effect at the time you filed. You can compare the current federal refund with the refund when you filed. The difference is the amount the IRS will send you.

If your lower income made you eligible for new credits that you could not claim due to income limits, you can file an amended return to claim those new credits. If the amount of credit increased due to subtracting unemployment income, the IRS will make that adjustment for you.

For example, if you were ineligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit but became eligible as a result of the $10,200 unemployment subtraction, you would have to file an amended return to claim EITC. However, if you were already eligible for EITC and the unemployment subtraction gave you bigger EITC the IRS will figure that amount for you.

The IRS does not have a way to check when you will get your unemployment refund. CNET suggests getting a free IRS online transcript. See "Check your unemployment tax refund online" in Tax refund for unemployment benefits: When to expect your money and how to check.

[VolvoGirl]

If you filed in April then Turbo Tax was already updated for it.  Did you use the Online version or the Desktop program?  The Desktop program was updated on March 26.  And the online version before then.

Check your return.  Your unemployment compensation will be on Schedule 1 line 7.  The exclusion will be on Schedule 1 Line 8 as a negative number. The result flows to Form 1040 Line 8.

[rjs]

Your unemployment refund will not appear in the IRS transcript until after the refund has been issued. A transcript will not tell you in advance when you will get the refund. By the time the refund shows up in your transcript, you will probably get it in a day or two, or you might have already gotten it.

[rjs]

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@smporteraol wrote:
I filed my returns in April just before the rescue act was signed

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I didn't notice that discrepancy in your post before.

The American Rescue Plan Act was signed by the president on March 11. So if you filed in April, it was well after the act was signed.

As VolvoGirl suggested, check your copy of the tax return that you filed. Is there a negative amount on Schedule 1 line 8, with the letters UCE on the dotted line to the left of the amount? If so, you already got the unemployment exclusion. You are not going to get an additional refund.

[smporteraol]

Thanks for  your replies. I was able to see that the unemployment income I received was basically zero'd out due to the Rescue Act however my question is about the taxes that I prepaid to the federal government on that amount during 2020. Federal taxes were taken out of my unemployment payments at the time they paid me. It would seem like I would qualify to receive that back, but I wasn't prompted to report that in anyway on my return. Somewhere in turbotax help I thought I read that in cases like mine it will result in an automatic refund but since we are past the timeframe that the federal govt said they have completed refunds of those type I am concerned. Any thoughts?

[VolvoGirl]

You didn't enter the withholding when you entered the 1099G for unemployment?  You got credit for it on 1040 line 25b.  See if it's there.

[fanfare]

Refunds to start in May but they did not.

Refunds to start in June, but as far as I can see, no one has gotten anything.

That includes my niece who filed Single.

[Jtortora70]

I filed my taxes February 10th 2021. Got my refund March 15th. I was on unemployment and paid in taxes. I also claimed my son. I amended my taxes May 12th for the stimulus rebate for my son and received the 1,100 due 2 weeks ago and on the notice CP21B it said for unemployment rebate also. Why am I not getting a refund for my unemployment because I was owed 1,100 for my son's stimulus. I paid in 847 in unemployment taxes last year so shouldn't I have expected a refund for unemployment?

[SundayInSalem]

Call the number listed on the top right corner of your notice and ask the IRS to explain your notice. We can't give you a complete and correct answer without knowing the details about your taxes and/or the notice, 

You can also contact a TurboTax Tax Expert who can review the CP21B and your amended return with you.

Understanding Your CP21B Notice